Extreme Speed Motorsports back on course following Sebring fire

Team manager Granison: It was a good learning experience for us

Extreme Speed Motorsports is well on its way to having one of its Ferrari F430 GTs fully repaired and ready for a cross-country trip to the next round of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. The Florida-based team is putting the finishing touches on repairs on the car that went up in flames with team owner Scott Sharp at the wheel 10 hours through the season-opening 58th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida.

Thanks to some quick thinking and reactions under pressure, the damage to the Sharp/Johannes van Overbeek Ferrari was limited to the rear body and a few components, team manager Derek Granison said.

“Because the rescue crew and the corner worker was right on-hand – a pre-mediated maneuver on Scott’s part as well (to get the car to a marshal’s post) – there was no damage to the chassis,” Granison said. “Both of the guys did a magnificent job.”

The Ferrari arrived back to ESM’s Jupiter, Fla., headquarters Tuesday from a local bodyshop with the team making the remaining repairs in advance of next week’s departure for the West Coast and the Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach. If nothing else, Granison says he and Sharp know the mettle of the Extreme Speed crew.

“When everyone here was hired, I knew what they could handle,” Granison said. “I pretty much hand-picked everyone on the team. A lot of these guys came with very high references and are extremely solid.

“It was a good learning experience,” he added. “Over the course of the year, you’ll usually have one major experience like this. We’re of course hoping that we’ve gotten ours out of the way!”

The Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach is the second round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. The race, set at the historic Long Beach street circuit, is scheduled for 4:40 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 17 with coverage on SPEED set for 8 to 10 p.m. ET. Live radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio presented by Porsche – a production of Radio Show Limited – as well as Sirius and XM. Visit the Series’ schedule page for ticket and accommodation information. Live Timing and Scoring, track schedule, entry list and much, much more will be available on Racehub at americanlemans.com.

Watch video – ‘Scott Sharp OK after Ferrari catches on fire at Sebring‘

Courtesy ALMS © RIF